Chapter 139: Shimmering Blue Moonlight (Part III)

1:4. It was not the apocalypse, but it felt like one.

On the pitch, Manchester City’s throw-in found Leroy Sane, who shifted the ball toward the middle. Fortunately, Bruno had been closely monitoring the situation; seeing Yaya Toure poised to cut through the Yellow Submarine’s defense, he sprinted over and executed a sliding tackle that sent Toure sprawling. The challenge earned Bruno a yellow card.

Observing the foul from the sidelines, Escriba felt a flicker of anxiety. Although they were desperate to push forward, they remained pinned in their own half by City’s relentless pressure.

Manchester City sought to put the tie beyond doubt, and their offensive intensity remained fierce. Sane’s runs down the flank were as sharp as ever, though the pace of City’s play had slowed slightly, perhaps due to fatigue. Slowly, Villarreal began to claw back control in the midfield.

In the 79th minute, Bruno intercepted a pass from Yaya Toure and launched a long ball to Trigueros in the center. Trigueros wasted no time, driving forward. Facing Kevin De Bruyne’s defense, he laid the ball off to Castillejo, who had dropped deep to support. Seeing Trigueros evade De Bruyne, Castillejo immediately returned the pass. With the ball back at his feet, the field suddenly opened up for Trigueros.

Trigueros was not known for his blistering pace, and by the time he gained possession, Manchester City’s defensive line had already reacted. Faced with the oncoming Yaya Toure, Trigueros carefully shielded the ball, refusing to be careless, and chipped a long pass toward the right edge of City’s penalty area before the defender could reach him.

Dai Zhiwei kept his eyes locked on the incoming ball, mentally calculating its trajectory and adjusting his steps, desperate to secure possession. But the Manchester City players were not about to watch him take it uncontested; Bacary Sagna charged toward the ball as well.

As the landing spot became clear, Dai Zhiwei and Sagna engaged in a fierce physical battle, grappling with one another as subtle fouls began to creep into their play. Shirt-tugging, elbows—they spared nothing as long as it didn’t draw the referee’s whistle. Dai Zhiwei had long since become a master of these dark arts.

Seeing the ball about to drop, he suddenly bent his knees. Sagna, whose view of the ball had been partially obscured by Dai Zhiwei’s hand, saw the movement and instinctively jumped, expecting a leap.

"Heh, fooled you," Dai Zhiwei smirked. The ball had not yet arrived; Sagna had jumped half a second too early.

Only after Sagna had left the ground did Dai Zhiwei leap, effortlessly killing the ball with his chest. He then executed a feint to bypass Sagna and surged forward.

Seeing Dai Zhiwei breach their final third, Manchester City’s defense moved instantly. Recognizing the threat, Yaya Toure abandoned his marking of Castillejo and sprinted toward Dai Zhiwei. Dai Zhiwei knocked the ball forward and gave chase. He felt excellent, loving the sensation of carrying the ball at high speed across the turf, completely unhindered.

Yaya Toure closed the distance, positioning himself on Dai Zhiwei’s path and attempting to stick a foot in to dispossess him. Toure was playing as a defensive midfielder, a role where his tactical awareness and organizational skills were top-tier—he had once been one of the world's best. But at 34, could he still stop this "rising wave"?

Just as Toure blocked his path, Dai Zhiwei slammed his shoulder into him, flicked the ball past him, and sprinted ahead. It was a blunt, physical display of power—exploiting Toure’s declining athleticism—but it was ruthlessly effective.

Toure did not give up, though he dared not commit a foul, as Dai Zhiwei had already surged two steps ahead and into the penalty area. Seeing him break free, the City backline grew tense. Fernandinho stepped up, trying to block Dai Zhiwei’s path with short, cautious steps. As an experienced defender, he knew he couldn't afford to lunge; if he failed to win the ball, the attacker would exploit the moment of overcommitment. One mistake from a defender could spell disaster.

Dai Zhiwei played with his head up. With his elite dribbling ability, he rarely needed to look at the ball, allowing him to track Fernandinho’s movement instantly. When he was two meters away, he tilted his head to the left, his eyes shifting in that direction. Left? Fernandinho’s center of gravity shifted instinctively to the left, his peripheral vision following suit.

Right!

In that instant, Dai Zhiwei shifted his body and broke to his right, his eyes and the ball moving in the exact opposite direction of his feint. Fernandinho couldn't react in time; his attempted lunge was futile against Dai Zhiwei’s momentum. Before he could even turn, Dai Zhiwei had completely shed his closest pursuer.

Having cleared Fernandinho, Dai Zhiwei saw the chaos in the City penalty area and Caballero’s positioning. He drew back his foot and unleashed a long-range strike.

The Etihad Stadium fell into a deathly silence. Every eye followed the arc of the ball. Although Caballero lunged, he could only watch helplessly as the ball grazed his fingertips and hit the net.

"Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooal!"

2:4! Villarreal had pulled one back!

The moment the ball hit the net, Dai Zhiwei shouted and sprinted into the goal to grab it, his speed no slower than his run into the box. He wanted to make his stance clear: Villarreal was not satisfied with just two away goals. Even at the Etihad, he would not accept defeat.

"A beautiful goal! In the 82nd minute, Villarreal pulls one back through Dai Zhiwei. A 2:4 scoreline is not unmanageable for the Yellow Submarine, though it’s clear their star player isn't satisfied with that!" the English commentator remarked.

Caballero didn't react much as Dai Zhiwei rushed over; after all, Manchester City still held a two-goal lead. Since Dai Zhiwei didn't celebrate and instead carried the ball back to the center circle, the restart was quick, and the match resumed almost immediately.

"The rest of this will be difficult; City will surely be provoked into attacking," Escriba muttered, frowning. But having decided to attack until the end, he could not waver now; to do so would cause the team's morale to collapse. "Don't be afraid! Push up!" Escriba shouted from the touchline, his foot planted on the white line, constantly urging his players on.

As expected, the two teams engaged in a fierce battle in midfield. Moments after Castillejo tried to break through, De Bruyne stripped the ball and passed to Yaya Toure, only for Bruno to swoop in and steal it. On the other side, just as Sane picked up speed, Costa threw himself into a sliding tackle to send the ball out for a throw-in.

For five minutes after the restart, both sides fought for control of the midfield with such ferocity that it was hard to believe they were past the 80th minute. While City’s midfielders were world-renowned, Villarreal’s were not to be outdone. They gradually stemmed the tide, and while they struggled to organize effective attacks, they successfully repelled City’s repeated advances.

Under Guardiola’s direction, a frustrated City began to slow the pace, playing a more measured game and launching quick counterattacks into the Villarreal box. The danger posed by Sane, Silva, and Aguero was evident; despite their relatively slight builds for the Premier League, their speed caused Musacchio and Ruiz significant trouble. Fortunately, all three had played over 80 minutes, and their fatigue meant their pace was noticeably slower than at kickoff, allowing Villarreal’s defense to barely hold firm.

Though Villarreal managed to stabilize, the cracks in their backline were visible. After another clearance by Ruiz, the ball fell near the midfield. With City’s aggressive pressure forcing Villarreal to defend deeper, their attacking players were left hovering near the center circle.

Sane picked up Ruiz’s clearance. With his delicate touch and top-tier speed, he controlled the ball and accelerated. Villarreal’s defenders were preoccupied with Aguero’s movement in the box, and no one was left to cover Sane. By the time he neared the penalty area, Villarreal’s defense couldn't react in time—Sane was simply too fast.

In truth, Sane was one of the top three most important attacking players for City. While their frontline seemed deep, Sane was their only true "game-changer" with genuine explosive potential. Aguero, Silva, and De Bruyne were masters of intricate play and finding space, but when a defense was set, they lacked that individual spark to break it down. Sane was the one who forced defenders to retreat.

As Sane closed in on the box, ready to shoot, Costa lunged in a panic. He attempted a sliding tackle from distance, but Sane nimbly evaded it and accelerated toward the penalty area. Suddenly, a gasp rose from the crowd—Sane had been sent flying through the air like a high-speed vehicle crashing, his cry of pain echoing throughout the stadium.

"Beep!" The sharp whistle blew, and the referee reached into his pocket, sprinting toward the spot where Sane lay.

Replays on the big screen showed that Bruno had been chasing back since Sane first took the ball. Although Sane was fast, he had naturally slowed down while dodging Costa. Just as he was about to enter the box, Bruno caught up and, perhaps fearing a shot, slid in from behind to trip him.

Players from both sides surrounded the referee. Villarreal’s players, led by Ruiz, pleaded for leniency, while City’s players demanded a penalty and a red card for Bruno. The referee, however, insisted the foul occurred outside the box and that the challenge was not malicious, producing only a yellow card.

But for Bruno, it made no difference. Having already received a yellow earlier, this second caution resulted in a red card. He was sent off, and he would be forced to miss the second leg.

"Sigh," Dai Zhiwei sighed. Bruno and Trigueros had been the team's primary defensive midfield duo all season. With Bruno gone—their first line of defense—it wasn't just a question of the next match; it was a question of whether Villarreal could hold on for the remainder of this one.

Villarreal seemed one step closer to the apocalypse.